The present invention relates to a template for laying out an envelope blank on a sheet of material. In particular, the present invention relates to a template and method for laying out an envelope blank that can be sized specifically for an item to be enclosed in the envelope. The invention facilitates the design of envelopes to accommodate items of nonstandard sizes and shapes.
Envelopes for holding items are well known. Typically, envelopes are used to hold a variety of items, such as greeting cards, notes, letters, coins, keys, small parts, and the like. Envelopes are generally made from envelope blanks based on standard patterns cut from sheets of material such as paper stock or card stock, or the like. Typically, the envelope blanks are mass-produced by machines, using dies and other types of cutting devices. Individual envelope blanks are then folded to make an envelope.
To make it economical to machine-produce large quantities of envelope blanks at one time, envelopes come in a limited number of standard sizes. While this is fine in many cases, it is not the best solution in all cases. With the advent of personal computers, it has become increasingly possible, and popular, for consumers to make personalized stationery and greeting cards. For example, there are a number of kits and computer programs available for consumers to make personalized greeting cards. However, most card making kits and computer programs have little flexibility to allow the user to make cards of shapes and sizes to fit standard envelopes. In fact, in most cases, the user is limited to only one size. The card is made or printed on a sheet of standard 8xc2xd by 11, and the sheet must then be folded in quarters to form the finished card. This results in a card that does not fit a standard envelope. For example, the card dimensions after folding would be 4.25 by 5.5 inches. Commonly found No. 10 envelopes are 4.13 by 9.5 inches either of those standard envelopes. A No. 11 envelope, at 4.5 by 10.37 inches, could be used, but would clearly be too large and wasteful of material.
Also, it is not uncommon for an envelope for a greeting card purchased from a store to become damaged or lost. This usually occurs after a person has already left the store and is ready to use the greeting card. Moreover, sometimes a purchaser picks up an envelope that is not the one intended by the manufacturer to go with the card, and does not notice the error until much later. As a result, in order to place the greeting card in an envelope, the purchaser would have to either return to the store to find a replacement envelope or endure the task of trying to make from scratch an envelope that will have a professional appearance when completed. Each of these options is time consuming and inconvenient.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device and an easy method for making envelopes of nonstandard sizes. Such a device and method should enable one to make an envelope that will be sized specifically for a particular item to be placed in the envelope, and that will have a neat and professional appearance when completed. The present invention meets these and other needs.
The present invention is directed to a template for laying out an envelope blank on a sheet of material. The template includes a straightedge portion having an edge that is used as a guide to form a line representing a layout line of an envelope blank and an alignment portion. The alignment portion includes an alignment field having an alignment element for adjustably locating the straightedge portion on the sheet.
The invention also contemplates a method of using the template. To use the template, an item to be enclosed by an envelope is placed on the sheet, and marks are placed on the sheet to approximately locate the corners of the item. The item is then removed from the sheet, and the template is placed on the sheet. To place the template in proper position, the edge of the straightedge portion is aligned on the sheet relative to at least one of the marks to locate the proper position of the first layout line. The edge is aligned by manipulating the alignment field as necessary until the alignment element is lined up with two diagonally opposed marks. Once the edge is properly aligned, a line representing the first layout line for the envelope blank is drawn substantially along substantially the entire length of the edge. After the first layout line is drawn, the template may be repositioned using each of the remaining marks as a separate reference to draw the remaining layout lines of the envelope blank. After all the layout lines are defined, the envelope blank may be removed from the sheet and folded to form a finished envelope.